Producer admits illicit sale of genetically modified corn seeds

A Shenzhen-listed company has admitted illicitly selling genetically modified (GM) corn seeds that were subsequently planted on hundreds of acres of land in northwest China earlier this year — the latest GM crop scandal to hit the world’s most-populous country.

Shandong Denghai Seeds Co., Ltd said on Tuesday that its subsidiary in Yili prefecture in the Xinjiang autonomous region sold GM seeds to a local corn farmer who planted them over more than 420 acres of farmland in Gongliu county in Yili.

The admission, made in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, followed the company’s disclosure on July 5 that three of its employees, including a deputy general manager, were taken into custody by police in May over allegations they were involved in illegal business operations linked to the sale of GM corn seeds.